June 25, 2025 • 10 mins
Britt & Laura were joined by entrepreneur and podcaster Laura Henshaw to chat about her VERY exciting baby news, her journey to figuring out that she DOES want kids and the very real moment you find out you're pregnant.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hi Heart podcasts, he more Kiss podcast playlist and listen
live on the free iHeart app.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I'm so excited for our guests on the show today.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Laura Henshaw.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
She's one half of the Absolute Empire that is Kick,
which she hosts alongside and has started alongside.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Steph kles Smith.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
So we're talking like podcasting, fitness apps. They've got food,
They've got so much in it. They're absolute juggernauts in
the space. But we're not talking to Laura Henshaw about
that today. We're talking to Laura Henshaw today because she
has just announced she is in her second trimester of pregnancy. No,
that might seem like everyone's like, Okay, cool, she's having
(00:50):
a baby. But I think what's interesting about this is
last year Laura released a mini series like a podcast series,
titled Do I Want Kids? Because she's always been on
the cusp of trying to decide what is right for
her and she wanted to put out the pressures that
people experience when they are trying to make this big,
life changing decision.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
And I related ever.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Lead to that because I've always been in the same space. Obviously,
Laura has made the decision to have kids.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
She's on the show today. Welcome Laura and congratulations.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Hello, Thank you so much, Laura.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Now that here are coming out of the trenches of
the first trimester, how are you feeling.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Much much better now? The first trimester I think as well,
because you don't tell that many people, and also like
it's obviously so early, the embryo is tiny. I felt
so sick, and I also felt quite depressed, yes, which
was it was a lot, a lot to take in,
and I'd spoke to some friends about and they kind
of said, oh, I didn't feel that, and I was like, oh,
(01:47):
my goodness, is something wrong with me? But anyway, now
I'm out of the first trimester, I'm feeling alive again.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I mean, you never know as well, because like, obviously
your hormones are going crazy, But do you do you
wonder whether or had you guys made the decision, were
you like, yes, we're trying for kids, or were you
still at a point where you were kind of fluctuating
between this yes and no feeling inside you?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So we had made the decision we wanted to have kids,
but we were not trying.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
It's very interesting there.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I've seen a lot of conversation online about this but
you know, if I was having sex, therefore I was
trying to have a child. Like people can, you know,
say whatever they want to say and make judgment on that.
But we weren't trying at the time, Like I was
training for the London Marathon. I was literally like four
weeks out from that. We had thought I had a
laproscopy book seen on the fifteenth of May, thinking that
(02:38):
we had to like in demetriosis looking at that and
kind of exploring a few other things. So we definitely
were not Yes, we were not trying at the time,
so it was a very big surprise, but we had
decided we did want to have kids.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
What has the conversation been like off the back of
doing a podcast series and been so openly vocal about
the fact that you are unsure and then coming out
seeing you're pregnant, because I can imagine, I mean, I've
seen a little bit of discourse around it, which is
a shame.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
But what do you want to say to those people, because.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I feel like people are making it sound like once
you've made a decision, you know, to change your mind.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Yes, that's exactly exactly right, and I feel like both
of you would relate to this so much. And it's
not just with having kids on it having kids that
there's so many other decisions. But it's been really interesting
and I don't I didn't expect a lot of people
to listen to the whole podcast series, but a lot
of people, I think, saw a few snippets and thought, oh,
you don't want to have kids. So a lot of
the commentary has been, as you said, kind of saying, oh, like,
(03:32):
didn't you not want to have kids five minutes ago?
But I think while I didn't, we didn't change our mind,
Like we actually just genuinely didn't know when we made
the decision that we did want to. I think my
biggest response to that is just that if we had
changed our mind about a decision that is life altering
for us and affects no one outside of myself and
my husband, it is completely okay for us totally change
(03:56):
our mind.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, but you know, I mean, the biggest thing I've
learned throughout my motherhood experience is that the people who
are going to judge are going to judge anyway. The
people who are going to have opinions on it are
going to have opinions, And I think think the reality
is unless you kind of go into motherhood as this
sacrificial land where your kids are every single thing that
you've ever wanted and nothing else matters, there's always going
to be some criticism. Whether that's because you're a working
(04:19):
mum or because you're still running businesses, or you know,
it's the juggle and the pressure on mums to do
it perfectly.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
It is so much greater than the pressure on that.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
But it's interesting that people have a go at you
for taking your time to do your due diligence and
work out what you really want. Because if there's anything
that you need to work out, if it's a yes
or a no, it's having a life altering decision like
having a child.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Oh one hundred percent, I think the other thing is
And it was really interesting and exploring the mini series
last year, a lot of women said this to me,
and I think it was really awesome that they were honest.
They said that they at the start really didn't like
that I was doing this podcast series because they didn't
feel like they could make the choice for themselves. They felt,
we know, there's so much like we live in a
(05:00):
pernatal society. There is so much pressure on women like
as our well, I don't believe it's our purpose in society,
but it is definitely a part of kind of patriarchal
belief system that we as women should bear children, and
so a lot of women haven't felt like they could
actually think about it and make that decision for themselves.
And so I think as well, sometimes when we see
(05:22):
someone like actually thinking about it, that can be a
way that we reaction. I totally understand that.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Well, I also think, I mean, for whatever reason, and
it's obviously so deeply wrong, but there's a selfishness that's
linked to it. We assume that if you don't want
to have kids, then there must be something about the
life that you want to live that's inherently selfish.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And it's just those two could not be further from
the truth.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
But Laura, I saw something that you posted the other day,
or it might have even been yesterday, and it was
around when you, I mean, every influencer posts like the
happy being on that you know, clear blue stick and
the two double lines and crying, and it's all kind
of like the same moment of happiness and joy, and
I resonated so much to what you posted. You shared
the moment that you've discovered you were pregnant and your husband,
(06:05):
Dalton was in the shower, and it was just a
very real moment that wasn't wrapped up in the absolute joy.
It was wrapped up in more I guess, shock, shock
and surprise and processing. What was I like for you guys?
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Oh yeah, and I mean, thank you for saying that.
I mean, the funniest thing. I didn't even think about it,
but everyone was like, why did your husband not get
out of the shower?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I was feeling and he was naked.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
I was also processing, yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
But that's right, and I think that's the thing. I
was like, we didn't have I can't actually remember if
we even hugged that day, like I'm sure we did
at some point, but it was in this beautiful emotional embrace.
And it's really interesting that thinking about that moment of
finding out if like that we were pregnant was actually
a part of the reason that I thought that maybe
I was undeserving of having children or I shouldn't because
(06:53):
I didn't think I was going to be emotional. And
I'm really glad that I realized that that's no reason
to decide to or not have kids. But the thing
is like for me, when I was shocked, I was
in absolute shock. As I said, we weren't trying. Even
if we were trying, I think it is always going
to be chakra, and you're not necessarily going to respond
in the way that you see online. And it's been
(07:14):
it's been really interesting, likely very much the same as
your story. So many people wrote to me and said,
oh my goodness, I've always felt like something was wrong
with me because I didn't cry when I found out.
But I'm so happy and I loved my child, but
I didn't. I didn't feel emotional.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
You know, Laura.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I mean, there's one reaction which his shock. When I
found out I was pregnant, I sat on the floor
and cried. Not out of happiness. I sat It was
not planned. I'd not been with my partner for very
long at the time.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
I was really worried about how he.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Was going to respond to it, because we know, we
knew we wanted to have kids, but it was still
early doors and like, yeah, I sat on that bathroom
floor by myself and bawled my eyes out because my
reaction to it wasn't elated joy of motherhood.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
It was oh my god, what have I done well?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Laura's I loved your response, Laura, that was like so
practical and pragmatic. The first thing he said was like,
can I still do the London Marathon?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Priorities? And you didn't do it? And I remember you saying,
what did you say? You said something happening with my life?
Speaker 4 (08:09):
I said I was tired, which is true.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
You would have struggled in that first trimester, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
But I think it's of course, I like both you
Lauras are talking about the fact that it's it's not
the way that everyone necessarily thinks it is, and maybe
that your first impression isn't pure joy in happiness, but
that doesn't take away from the fact that it's still
something you love and want totally.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
And I think, like I mean, just in I don't
want to leave it with that. I start on the
floor devastated and not round that one out. Becoming a
mum has been the best thing that's ever happened to me,
Like I could not love motherhood and being a mum
to my beautiful girls more. And you know, I think
that everyone has different reactions when they find out, and
everyone processes pregnancy very differently, and that does has no
(08:53):
indication on what type of mum you're going to be.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Amen Queen, one hundred percent, it's so to true. I
think it's amazing that you shared that because I've had
some also messages in people saying I cried of like
sad fear because I was like, what's going to happen?
Of fear? And I like I could never tell anyone
that because I felt like it meant I didn't love
my child, when obviously that is not the case at all.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
What do you want to say to anyone listening that
is maybe a bit undecided about whether they want to
go down the journey of having kids, but they also
feel the time crunch from the biological clock and the
pressure asking for a friend as a thirty.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Eight year old old, Oh.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah, it's a killer. I think the first thing I
would say is that the fact that you are thinking
about it, and you mentioned this before, it is a
life altering decision is so important that we put time
into thinking about it. So the fact you were thinking
about it is so so so amazing. Go on the
journey and also just take that pressure off yourself. I
think when you feel the clock, it's like, oh my goodness,
(09:51):
I have to make the decision. I have to make
the decision. But making the decision first for yourself, that
is the most important thing. And then you can look
at Okay, what does this mean when we if you
do decide you want to have kids, when we have
to start trying, do we have to freeze our eggs, etcetera?
Speaker 3 (10:07):
It is.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
We could not be more thrilled for you. Congratulations. We uh,
we're hooked. We can't wait to.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Watch and follow and follow the pregnancy journey with you.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
No, we're just so excited for you. If you want
to lie stream the birth, we'll watch that as well.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Thank you so much, guys,
Hi Heart podcasts, he more Kiss podcast playlist and listen
live on the free iHeart app.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I'm so excited for our guests on the show today.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Laura Henshaw.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
She's one half of the Absolute Empire that is Kick,
which she hosts alongside and has started alongside.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Steph kles Smith.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
So we're talking like podcasting, fitness apps. They've got food,
They've got so much in it. They're absolute juggernauts in
the space. But we're not talking to Laura Henshaw about
that today. We're talking to Laura Henshaw today because she
has just announced she is in her second trimester of pregnancy. No,
that might seem like everyone's like, Okay, cool, she's having
(00:50):
a baby. But I think what's interesting about this is
last year Laura released a mini series like a podcast series,
titled Do I Want Kids? Because she's always been on
the cusp of trying to decide what is right for
her and she wanted to put out the pressures that
people experience when they are trying to make this big,
life changing decision.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
And I related ever.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Lead to that because I've always been in the same space. Obviously,
Laura has made the decision to have kids.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
She's on the show today. Welcome Laura and congratulations.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Hello, Thank you so much, Laura.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Now that here are coming out of the trenches of
the first trimester, how are you feeling.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
Much much better now? The first trimester I think as well,
because you don't tell that many people, and also like
it's obviously so early, the embryo is tiny. I felt
so sick, and I also felt quite depressed, yes, which
was it was a lot, a lot to take in,
and I'd spoke to some friends about and they kind
of said, oh, I didn't feel that, and I was like, oh,
(01:47):
my goodness, is something wrong with me? But anyway, now
I'm out of the first trimester, I'm feeling alive again.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I mean, you never know as well, because like, obviously
your hormones are going crazy, But do you do you
wonder whether or had you guys made the decision, were
you like, yes, we're trying for kids, or were you
still at a point where you were kind of fluctuating
between this yes and no feeling inside you?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So we had made the decision we wanted to have kids,
but we were not trying.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
It's very interesting there.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I've seen a lot of conversation online about this but
you know, if I was having sex, therefore I was
trying to have a child. Like people can, you know,
say whatever they want to say and make judgment on that.
But we weren't trying at the time, Like I was
training for the London Marathon. I was literally like four
weeks out from that. We had thought I had a
laproscopy book seen on the fifteenth of May, thinking that
(02:38):
we had to like in demetriosis looking at that and
kind of exploring a few other things. So we definitely
were not Yes, we were not trying at the time,
so it was a very big surprise, but we had
decided we did want to have kids.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
What has the conversation been like off the back of
doing a podcast series and been so openly vocal about
the fact that you are unsure and then coming out
seeing you're pregnant, because I can imagine, I mean, I've
seen a little bit of discourse around it, which is
a shame.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
But what do you want to say to those people, because.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I feel like people are making it sound like once
you've made a decision, you know, to change your mind.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Yes, that's exactly exactly right, and I feel like both
of you would relate to this so much. And it's
not just with having kids on it having kids that
there's so many other decisions. But it's been really interesting
and I don't I didn't expect a lot of people
to listen to the whole podcast series, but a lot
of people, I think, saw a few snippets and thought, oh,
you don't want to have kids. So a lot of
the commentary has been, as you said, kind of saying, oh, like,
(03:32):
didn't you not want to have kids five minutes ago?
But I think while I didn't, we didn't change our mind,
Like we actually just genuinely didn't know when we made
the decision that we did want to. I think my
biggest response to that is just that if we had
changed our mind about a decision that is life altering
for us and affects no one outside of myself and
my husband, it is completely okay for us totally change
(03:56):
our mind.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Yeah, but you know, I mean, the biggest thing I've
learned throughout my motherhood experience is that the people who
are going to judge are going to judge anyway. The
people who are going to have opinions on it are
going to have opinions, And I think think the reality
is unless you kind of go into motherhood as this
sacrificial land where your kids are every single thing that
you've ever wanted and nothing else matters, there's always going
to be some criticism. Whether that's because you're a working
(04:19):
mum or because you're still running businesses, or you know,
it's the juggle and the pressure on mums to do
it perfectly.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
It is so much greater than the pressure on that.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
But it's interesting that people have a go at you
for taking your time to do your due diligence and
work out what you really want. Because if there's anything
that you need to work out, if it's a yes
or a no, it's having a life altering decision like
having a child.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Oh one hundred percent, I think the other thing is
And it was really interesting and exploring the mini series
last year, a lot of women said this to me,
and I think it was really awesome that they were honest.
They said that they at the start really didn't like
that I was doing this podcast series because they didn't
feel like they could make the choice for themselves. They felt,
we know, there's so much like we live in a
(05:00):
pernatal society. There is so much pressure on women like
as our well, I don't believe it's our purpose in society,
but it is definitely a part of kind of patriarchal
belief system that we as women should bear children, and
so a lot of women haven't felt like they could
actually think about it and make that decision for themselves.
And so I think as well, sometimes when we see
(05:22):
someone like actually thinking about it, that can be a
way that we reaction. I totally understand that.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Well, I also think, I mean, for whatever reason, and
it's obviously so deeply wrong, but there's a selfishness that's
linked to it. We assume that if you don't want
to have kids, then there must be something about the
life that you want to live that's inherently selfish.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
And it's just those two could not be further from
the truth.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
But Laura, I saw something that you posted the other day,
or it might have even been yesterday, and it was
around when you, I mean, every influencer posts like the
happy being on that you know, clear blue stick and
the two double lines and crying, and it's all kind
of like the same moment of happiness and joy, and
I resonated so much to what you posted. You shared
the moment that you've discovered you were pregnant and your husband,
(06:05):
Dalton was in the shower, and it was just a
very real moment that wasn't wrapped up in the absolute joy.
It was wrapped up in more I guess, shock, shock
and surprise and processing. What was I like for you guys?
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Oh yeah, and I mean, thank you for saying that.
I mean, the funniest thing. I didn't even think about it,
but everyone was like, why did your husband not get
out of the shower?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
I was feeling and he was naked.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
I was also processing, yeah.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
But that's right, and I think that's the thing. I
was like, we didn't have I can't actually remember if
we even hugged that day, like I'm sure we did
at some point, but it was in this beautiful emotional embrace.
And it's really interesting that thinking about that moment of
finding out if like that we were pregnant was actually
a part of the reason that I thought that maybe
I was undeserving of having children or I shouldn't because
(06:53):
I didn't think I was going to be emotional. And
I'm really glad that I realized that that's no reason
to decide to or not have kids. But the thing
is like for me, when I was shocked, I was
in absolute shock. As I said, we weren't trying. Even
if we were trying, I think it is always going
to be chakra, and you're not necessarily going to respond
in the way that you see online. And it's been
(07:14):
it's been really interesting, likely very much the same as
your story. So many people wrote to me and said,
oh my goodness, I've always felt like something was wrong
with me because I didn't cry when I found out.
But I'm so happy and I loved my child, but
I didn't. I didn't feel emotional.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
You know, Laura.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I mean, there's one reaction which his shock. When I
found out I was pregnant, I sat on the floor
and cried. Not out of happiness. I sat It was
not planned. I'd not been with my partner for very
long at the time.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
I was really worried about how he.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Was going to respond to it, because we know, we
knew we wanted to have kids, but it was still
early doors and like, yeah, I sat on that bathroom
floor by myself and bawled my eyes out because my
reaction to it wasn't elated joy of motherhood.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
It was oh my god, what have I done well?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Laura's I loved your response, Laura, that was like so
practical and pragmatic. The first thing he said was like,
can I still do the London Marathon?
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Priorities? And you didn't do it? And I remember you saying,
what did you say? You said something happening with my life?
Speaker 4 (08:09):
I said I was tired, which is true.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
You would have struggled in that first trimester, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
But I think it's of course, I like both you
Lauras are talking about the fact that it's it's not
the way that everyone necessarily thinks it is, and maybe
that your first impression isn't pure joy in happiness, but
that doesn't take away from the fact that it's still
something you love and want totally.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
And I think, like I mean, just in I don't
want to leave it with that. I start on the
floor devastated and not round that one out. Becoming a
mum has been the best thing that's ever happened to me,
Like I could not love motherhood and being a mum
to my beautiful girls more. And you know, I think
that everyone has different reactions when they find out, and
everyone processes pregnancy very differently, and that does has no
(08:53):
indication on what type of mum you're going to be.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
Amen Queen, one hundred percent, it's so to true. I
think it's amazing that you shared that because I've had
some also messages in people saying I cried of like
sad fear because I was like, what's going to happen?
Of fear? And I like I could never tell anyone
that because I felt like it meant I didn't love
my child, when obviously that is not the case at all.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
What do you want to say to anyone listening that
is maybe a bit undecided about whether they want to
go down the journey of having kids, but they also
feel the time crunch from the biological clock and the
pressure asking for a friend as a thirty.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Eight year old old, Oh.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah, it's a killer. I think the first thing I
would say is that the fact that you are thinking
about it, and you mentioned this before, it is a
life altering decision is so important that we put time
into thinking about it. So the fact you were thinking
about it is so so so amazing. Go on the
journey and also just take that pressure off yourself. I
think when you feel the clock, it's like, oh my goodness,
(09:51):
I have to make the decision. I have to make
the decision. But making the decision first for yourself, that
is the most important thing. And then you can look
at Okay, what does this mean when we if you
do decide you want to have kids, when we have
to start trying, do we have to freeze our eggs, etcetera?
Speaker 3 (10:07):
It is.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
We could not be more thrilled for you. Congratulations. We uh,
we're hooked. We can't wait to.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Watch and follow and follow the pregnancy journey with you.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
No, we're just so excited for you. If you want
to lie stream the birth, we'll watch that as well.
Speaker 4 (10:22):
Thank you so much, guys,
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